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Spot shrimp fishing holding up strong in Puget Sound and Hood Canal

The sport spot shrimp fishery in Puget Sound and Hood Canal got off to a very good start on Saturday (May 4) and Wednesday (May 8) with many pulling up their limit of tasty, prized prawn-sized shrimp.

“Catches on the opener were pretty good everywhere, and I would say it was similar to last year but more effort,” said Mark O’Toole, a state Fish and Wildlife shellfish manager who was out conducting buoys counts today in Everett area.

“It wasn’t a big as turnout (Wednesday) as Saturday, but a good crowd,” O’Toole said. “Usually there is not much of a difference from one day to the next, and maybe just a little less effort from what we saw.”

Fisheries shellfish managers will crunch the numbers on Thursday (May 9) to determine what areas will be able to have more days of fishing.

“We’ll make a decision very soon on what areas will reopen,” O’Toole said. “I think in (Marine Catch Area 8) we’ll be really close to the quota, and I think with (Area 9) we’ll be going over the quota and won’t get a third day. Elliott Bay probably won’t reopen because the catches were so good.”

“Marine Area 10 outside of Elliott Bay we’ll figure out tomorrow, and it might get an extra day and (Area 11) might also get an extra day as well,” O’Toole said. “Down south off Bainbridge and Vashon islands the north wind (on Saturday) was bumping the shrimp guys around, and I was surprised how lumpy the water was. That might’ve kept the shrimp numbers down. I was out of Everett and there was a little north breeze, but it was fine.”

While the majority of spot shrimp anglers will abide by the rules there are those who get greedy and take advantage of a splendid fishery.

Take for example, a story on the state Fish and Wildlife enforcement Facebook page where three anglers lied about their catch, and were found to have in possession 608 spot shrimp, which is 368 over their limit.

In all areas, the daily limit is 80 spot shrimp daily, and here are the remaining dates at this point:

Hood Canal is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 15, 18 and 22.

Discovery Bay is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 15, 18 and 22.

The Strait of Juan de Fuca east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, and Sekiu, Port Angeles and southern Puget Sound (excluding Discovery Bay) are open daily and will closes when the quota is achieved or Sept. 15, whichever comes first. One exception is southern Puget Sound which will close for spot shrimp on May 31.

San Juan Islands east and south region are open May 15-18, May 29 — June 1.

San Juan Island western region is open Wednesday through Saturday each week through June 1. After June 1 the area will be open Thursday through Saturday each week until the quota is achieved or Sept. 15, whichever comes first.

Here are the preliminary Puget Sound spot shrimp catch estimates for the Saturday, May 4 opener, which looks to have been very good fishing. The “average” recreational boat fishes ~3.5 pots (four is the maximum) and carries ~3.3 anglers on board:

About the author

A Seattle native, Mark Yuasa is a lifelong angler who grew up near the banks of Lake Washington and has been covering fishing and outdoors for more than 21 years for The Seattle Times. Read his regular fishing report every Thursday and the outdoor notebook every Sunday.